20 Oct 2017
Shri Anupam Kumar asked (Question forwarded by Shri P. Surya from website www.universal-spirituality.org):
1) "Shri Datta Swamiji! Who is Your Guru? Did You surrender to Him?"
Swami replied: I have three Gurus in three levels: 1) In Anuhya or atarkya or unimaginable (absolute) level, Parabrahma (unimaginable God) is My Guru. 2) In Paroksha or imaginable-invisible (relative) level, Shri Dattatreya is My Guru (energetic incarnation having Parabrahma in inert energy + awareness medium). 3) In Pratyaksha or imaginable-visible (relative) level, Shri Satya Sai having Parabrahma and Shri Dattatreya in inert energy + awareness + inert matter medium. Parabrahma speaks through Shri Dattatreya, the same speech is spoken by Shri Dattatreya through Shri Satya Sai and the same speech is spoken by Shri Satya Sai through Shri Datta Swami.
My verse on My Guru is: Parabrahma Samaarambhaam, Shri Dattatreya Madhyamaam, Shri Satya Sai Pariyantaam, Vande Guru Paramparaam (I salute the chain of My Gurus, starting with Guru Parabrahma, coming to central Guru Shri Dattatreya and ending with Guru Shri Satya Sai).
My Pratyaksha Guru, Shri Satya Sai, gave Me command to propagate the true spiritual knowledge. I reveal the three statements in conversation on that sacred occasion.
Guru: I have selected You for propagation of spiritual knowledge.
Disciple (Myself): I am not eligible to do this propagation since I know only science, teaching EAMCET and IIT entrance for the sake of My worldly responsibilities.
Guru: Who is more eligible than You in this creation for this work?
Disciple (Myself): I have a large family to be maintained and if I leave My profession, how to discharge My worldly responsibilities?
Guru: I will take care of all Your responsibilities.
On that day, My bank balance was absolute zero with a large family to be maintained. I stopped all My worldly activities and involved Myself in this spiritual work as per the command of My Guru. Now, you shall say that whether I surrendered to My Guru or not. My Guru has taken up all My responsibilities as promised by Him. I was attracted to God Dattatreya in My childhood by His will only and He showed His miraculous power in Me. My father taught Me only 8 verses in Sanskrit from the epic called the Raghu Vamsha. From 9th verse onwards, I started Myself revealing the meanings. I never studied Sanskrit from anybody except this much. I told spontaneous poetry in Sanskrit. All the scriptures including Shastras entered My brain and I wrote hundred books in Sanskrit on unity and correlation of commentaries of Shankara, Ramanuja and Madhva. My father feared that I was possessed by a special demon called as Brahma Raakshasa (a scholar dying without propagation of knowledge becomes such demon) and performed several rituals for Me to expel the demon. I told him that God Dattatreya, author of the Vedas, possessed Me and He cannot be expelled by rituals in which the Vedic hymns are recited!
I thank you very much for giving Me an opportunity to remember the sacred memories of conversation with My Guru. The word 'Gu' means ignorance or darkness. The word 'Ru' means the light or knowledge that removes darkness or ignorance. You have to identify Guru or Satguru (contemporary human incarnation of God involved in spiritual preaching for giving right direction). The Veda says that the identification of God is the true knowledge alone explained enormously for clarification of doubts of many spiritual aspirants (Satyam jnanam anantam Brahma). The word 'anantam' or infinite means very large extent.
Shri Karthik asked:
1) Please explain the order of increasing importance of aarta, jijnasu, arthaarthi and jnaani.
2) I read one saying of Shri Satya Sai Baba that knowledge without devotion results in hatred. Please explain this.
3) Shall I believe astrology or not?
4) What is meant by Avadhuta?
Swami replied: 1) This order is mentioned in the Gita in the order of not only increasing importance (from left to right), but also in the order of sequence of time indicating the stages one after the other. Aarta means the devotee having full faith in God, who is suffering with worldly problems craving for solutions. Leaving the minority of climax Nivrutti-devotees, all the majority pravrutti-devotees approach God only for the sake of solutions for their worldly problems including materialistic benefits in the case of poverty. These devotees are so selfish and ungrateful to God since they worship God severely in the time of difficulties and just forget God on achieving the solutions of the problems! The human being awakens and becomes very alert smashing all the ego as soon as problems come! The same human being sleeps and becomes very ignorant empowered by ego when the problem is solved and happiness appears! In order to make this sleeping human being to be in the right path, God gives problems now and then, which shall be understood as the grace of God on His issues. After the war, Krishna asked His aunt Kunti to ask for a boon. Kunti asked for continuous problems and worries so that she can be alert with continuous devotion (vipadah santu nah shashvat)! In fact, problems are only the punishments of the sins done by the human being and actually these are to be enjoyed in the hell (bhoga loka) after death so that there is no disturbance for the soul in its spiritual effort in this world (karma loka). In spite of this general rule, the punishments are dragged into this world by the Divine Father for the sake of bringing alertness in souls in the spiritual path. The general rule can be changed whenever there is a real requirement.
The first stage is suffering due to worldly tensions, which are the fruits of their sins only. This is the stage of aarta, means the soul suffering. The second stage is jijnaasu, which means that the human being investigates for the path of the solution for its problem causing suffering and comes to know that God alone can give the solution since all the human efforts failed. The third stage is arthaarthi, which means that after knowing God alone is omnipotent to solve the problem and to remove the suffering, the human being starts praying the God to show the solution for the problem. Since the devotee is not an atheist, God responds and shows the solution. Now the question comes that whether God has the weakness of being pleased with flattery through prayers and worships and is cancelling the punishment of the sin (sin is the problem faced by human beings)! To know the answer for this, you have to approach Satguru and scriptures for knowledge. You will attain the right answer for all such doubts from Satguru, who is God Himself in human form and hence such Satguru is declared as God (Jnaanitvaatmaiva... Gita). All the earlier three stages are also appreciated as good because the soul is proceeding towards God for solution unlike an atheist negating the existence of God due to climax of ego (Udaaraah sarva evaite... Gita). What is the answer for this question on God? The answer is:- Anyway, this punishment of sin is not to be enjoyed in this world and is to be enjoyed in the upper world (hell) as per the general rule. It is dragged into this world to direct the soul into right path. The soul has come into the right path pricked by the problem like the elephant controlled by spear. Now, the purpose is over. The balance of the punishment is sent back to hell. Of course, the punishment that much enjoyed here is reduced in its actual value like the withdrawal of a premature deposit. This is the reason for the scholars praying God to finish the enjoyment of sin in this world itself as early as possible because its value is reduced! But, they don't know that the sins are postponed to hell so that the time in this world is saved for the spiritual effort without any disturbance (aim of general rule). In this fourth stage of knowledge, even the solution for cancelling all the sins to be enjoyed in the future also is known so that the soul can implement that unique fortunate method to get relief from all the past sins. That unique method is to realize that the punishment of sin is inevitable in the upper world (even if avoided in this world) and in some future birth (even if avoided in this life) along with compounded interest as said by the scripture (Avashyamanubhoktavyam). This fourth stage is the greatest stage and is given the position of God since it reveals the solution once for all. The first stage of the solution is realization of this truth of the doctrine of deeds and fruits (karma chakra). The second stage of the solution is emotional repentance for the sins done in the past called as confession, which is expected to bring practical reformation (the third step in which non-repetition of the sin results). If you realize and confess three times in everyday (morning, noon and evening) called as 'Trikaala Sandhyaavandanam', there is a hope of the practical materialization of the third step and this is the confession exactly done by Christians also. In this ritual called ‘Sandhyaavandanam’, it is said that the confession done in the early morning (while night remains, which is called as Brahma Muhurta) is expected to remove the sin done in the night and the confession done in the late evening (while day remains still) is expected to remove the sin done in the daytime (yadahnaat..., yadraatriyaat...). This is the basic universal essence of this Hindu ritual, which is found in all religions of the world. The noon confession is expected to support both these confessions since 'Sandhya' stands for junction of day and night happening twice in a span of 24 hours. Instead of one confession in the noon, any number of confessions can be done in the daytime as is done by the followers of Islam. This ritual involves: i) Prayer to God that increases attachment to God so that the excess fascination to worldly bonds is decreased to avoid doing the sins and ii) Repentance of the past sins, which is expected to result in the non-repetition of sin in the future. At the end of repentance done after realization, your file is kept in cold storage, but, if the sin is repeated practically, the file becomes active and comes to the table of God! It is a total misunderstanding if you think that the sin is cancelled by just theoretical confession! Confining to mere theoretical phase by knowledge and devotion is of no use unless the practice follows the theory. This is very important warning to the devotee of any religion.
2) To know that the contemporary human incarnation is the ultimate unimaginable God of absolute plane (Paramaartha Dashaa) due to homogenous merge is the essence of spiritual knowledge for any soul in human body. This knowledge stands true for a soul in energetic body in the upper world (or a departed soul from this world existing in energetic body) also provided you replace the word 'human incarnation' by the word 'energetic incarnation'. Before the generation of this divine knowledge (like divine nectar), already the repulsion between common media due to ego and jealousy is existing (like the horrible poison called as halaahala generated before the generation of divine nectar). If you are affected by this black poison, you will become the black demon not eligible for the divine nectar. If you are not affected like the white angel, you will become eligible for the divine nectar. This repulsion between common media, which are human bodies in this world (or energetic bodies in the upper world), has already developed hatred towards co-human form, which (hatred) can't be removed by the divine nectar. If the soul is not affected by this repulsion and lacks ego and jealousy, the divine nectar (knowledge that Satguru is human incarnation) will develop devotion to God in human form so that there is a direct facility to clarify your doubts and get true knowledge that gives true direction. Even Swami Vivekananda was affected by this poison of extended monism and got relieved of it in the end when Paramahamsa on His death bed told that He is God (Rama and Krishna)! Swami Vivekananda doubted whether Paramahamsa suffering can be God and Paramahamsa immediately gave this reply without the expression of doubt! The affected demon continues with his developed hatred. This demon on hearing that a co-human form is God, he starts scolding the Satguru and thus his hidden hatred comes out looking as if it is then generated. Hence, unless you eliminate this hatred towards co-human beings in the beginning itself, you can't digest the idea of human incarnation. Hence, a zero-hour training to serve co-human beings as God is advised as we hear from the mouths of politicians that public human beings (voters) are Gods! This point is basically correct to remove the hatred towards co-human beings. If you keep the goal as highest (treating the co-human being as God), at least you will achieve the least goal (not to ill-treat the co-human being with ego and jealousy called as hatred). By this, the devotee is warned not to be trapped by the false extension of monism (true monism is in the case of human incarnation only) to conclude really that every human being is God including himself (inclusion of himself is the real motive!) resulting in negligence of human incarnation, sometimes, leading to insult also (Avajaananti... Gita). If every human soul is really God, why Gopikas ran to Krishna only leaving their family members-Gods? How God-Narasimha could kill God-Hiranyakashipu resulting in suicide of God! This concept is meant for the pre-training to remove the hatred towards co-human form keeping the highest goal as treating every co-human form as God so that in future the human incarnation can be recognized without the affect of the pre-hatred towards co-human form.
3) Astrology is based on planets with unimaginable powers given by God to do the routine administration of world under the total control of God. The ladder up to God is built starting from the bottommost ground of atheists. Atheists do not believe in the existence of unimaginable God and hence in the unimaginable power. To create belief in the mind of an atheist, miraculous powers of God are exhibited, which indicate the existence of ultimate unimaginable God as their source. All these exhibitors of miraculous powers of God indicate the distance travelled by you in the path to God like the milestones. These milestones are meant for exhibiting the concept of unimaginable power and thereby indicating the concept of unimaginable God as its source, which are called as aativaahikas meaning the guides showing you the direction of the path towards God. These travel guides possess miraculous powers to introduce the concept of unimaginable power of God. The Brahma Sutra says that these guides (aativaahikaah) possess the characteristic power of unimaginable God (tat lingaat) by which they show the direction towards God. Once you reach the goal, these guides are not necessary for you. But, since you have reached the goal, will you say that all the milestones in the path are unnecessary and should be removed? You must respect them for the sake of the other travelers in the path. These powers introduce the possessor of these powers. When a prediction given by astrology as per the astrological scriptures written by sages like Paraashara and Jaimini becomes correct, you cannot attribute this prediction to the imaginable scientific power. Hence, you will accept the existence of the unimaginable power, which is an introduction to the acceptance of unimaginable God. God also makes the astrological prediction to become correct since He likes to establish the concept of unimaginable power in the mind of an atheist so that gradually the atheist becomes theist and attains the faith in God. When you have recognized God and involved in His service through advanced spiritual knowledge, astrology is not necessary for you. But, astrology helps the other travelers in the spiritual path. Even exhibitors of miracles also are in this direction only. Even demons exhibiting the miracles serve this main purpose and hence, are not objected by God. The negative direction of the miracles taken by them will destroy them. Astrologers also in the service of God are helped by God in making their prediction to become true. But, astrologers exploiting (for money) the weakness of theists for solutions of problems and materialistic benefits are punished by God. All the miracles are meant for the beginner in the LKG class, the level of atheism only. The theist does not require any miracle since he already believes the existence of God with miraculous powers. The theist acts like an atheist demanding for a miracle so that once he recognizes the place of existence of miraculous power, he can flatter and wash the brain of the possessor of miraculous powers through unreal devotion to solve his/her personal problems. God is omniscient and knows all the trickish ideas of human beings. When there is a real necessity, the miraculous power of God is spontaneously exhibited without any effort of the possessor of miraculous power. Hence, if you are a devoted theist, you do not require any miracle or astrology and you require only the perfect spiritual knowledge in order to serve God in perfect way. You need not worry about the solutions of your problems because God will take care of you in every problem without any prayer. The tricks and false devotion with the aim of solutions for problems and materialistic benefits cannot fool God. If you are praying for removal of the problem, which is the punishment of your sin, your philosophy is to do the sin and not to accept its punishment! If you are praying for materialistic benefits, which are the fruits of good deeds only, it means that your philosophy is to gain the fruit of good deed without doing the good deed!
4) Avadhuta indicates the total detachment from the worldly bonds from which the total attachment to God is expected to exist. In the devotion of God, the devotee is not aware of even clothes on his body. This indicates the total absorption of the devotee in God provided such detachment is the spontaneous result of the total attachment to God. The attraction to God indicates the absence of even clothes on the body. But, by removing clothes from the body, one can't be certified as a total devotee fully attracted to God and can't be called real avadhuta. The stage of Avadhuta is that in which the devotee is not aware of presence or absence of the cloth on his body, which need not be necessarily the absence of clothes only! The modern Avadhuta comes out removing his cloth thinking that he will be recognized as Avadhuta if he is naked!
When Shri Manikya Prabhu (incarnation of Datta) sitting on the throne in the court of devotees, called a lady-devotee (taking her name with loud voice) taking bath in the bathroom without clothes, she ran to the court in naked state without the idea of presence or absence of clothes on her body. She is the real avadhuta. She did not run to the court with full awareness of absence of clothes on her body to prove to the public that she is a climax devotee or avadhuta. The real background of avadhuta is explained here to differentiate it from exhibiting false background.
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